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News Release

Ontario to Standardize Police Street Checks

Provincewide Rules to Ensure Fairness and Public Confidence

Ontario is moving to standardize police street checks across the province, and will establish rules to ensure these encounters are without bias, consistent, and carried out in a manner that promotes public confidence.

Over the summer, the province will consult with community organizations, policing partners, civil liberty organizations, the public and others to develop a set of rules to govern police street checks. Ontario will seek input from partners on a number of topics, including:

The circumstances when police may ask an individual for information

The rights of those being asked for their information

How to enhance accountability mechanisms and training requirements

Data collection and retention

Following consultations, the province will introduce a regulation to standardize how street checks are conducted across Ontario. The province's approach to developing a new set of rules will be based on respect for individual human and Charter rights, while recognizing the need for police to keep Ontario's communities safe.

The new regulation would support the province's police officers with clear and consistent guidelines to help them deliver fair and effective policing, while strengthening public accountability and safeguarding respect for human rights.

Ensuring that all citizen interactions with the police in Ontario are consistent and respectful is part of the government's plan to create a fair and inclusive society.

Quotes

“Public trust in police is essential for building even safer communities. We recognize that some police street check practices erode that trust. That is why we are moving forward on putting in place practices to sustain and bolster trust while giving the police the tools they need to do their work. Every Ontarian must have the confidence that their interactions with police are governed by the principles of fairness, respect and dignity.”